So, Ray Zhang… I’ve mentioned him before. He’s an artist who wants to do a comic and is looking for a writer. Lucky for Ray, I know just the guy… me.

Now that I have Ray on the team, the first thing I do is hand him the So-Called Living script, and see what he can do with it. The outcome was both good and bad. You see, Ray’s style isn’t really suited for SCL, it’s got an old Japanese anime style to it, which is cool, just not a good fit for this script.

When I tell Ray what I think, he tells me he understands, and wants to learn how to draw a little more “Westernized” style of comic (FYI: He’s from China), to which I replied, “Don’t you dare!” I love the old school anime Ray brings to the table, so I tell him that I’m going to write up a new story that would best suit his style and interests, and that this can be a story we collaborate on. Ray’s all excited.

The moment all three of you have been waiting for! Our first look at Jack. These early concepts by the talented Mr. Riehl (pronounced “real”) put a face to the name. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m excited! I find having these images, (even in their early stages) really helps breath life into characters that until now were just words on paper, and as a writer, this is really going to help clarify the muddied up scenes that run through my head when writing the story.

One of the things I like to do early on when writing for a new character is to create a simple character sheet. Nothing too detailed, just a little something to keep me focused on who they are. Jamie (our artist extraordinaire) also uses these break downs to determine the final look of the character when he’s doing his drawing thing (we’ll post those when he’s done).

Below is the leading characters, character sheet. Edited for public display ;)